Until Paul R. Nerswick walked into the Board of Elections just before the filing deadline
Wednesday, the Columbus mayoral race appeared to be a two-party, two-candidate affair.

But when Nerswick handed over a petition with 2,129 signatures on it, he set up what could be
Columbus' first mayoral primary since 1999. At least 1,000 of the signatures must be valid for him
to make the ballot.

The field of candidates: Mayor Michael B. Coleman, a Democrat seeking his fourth term; Earl W.
Smith III, a retired police sergeant endorsed by the Republicans; and Nerswick.

Nerswick?

Coleman had never heard of him, said Dan Williamson, the mayor's spokesman.

Smith hadn't either.

"More power to him," Smith said. "I look forward to meeting him."

A primary would be needed if all three candidates make the ballot to reduce the field to two for
the general election.

Nerswick, 43, is a political independent who owns a business that supplies care and housing to
people with mental disabilities under contract with the Ohio Department of Developmental
Disabilities.

He also started the Lend-a-Hand Thrift Store on Indianola Avenue, a nonprofit that uses the
money it makes to help those with developmental disabilities, mental illness and addictions. And
he's a landlord with properties on N. 4th Street that are advertised to Ohio State University
students.

He said he decided to run for mayor because too many people feel left out of the process.

"I want to have people feel a potential for optimism about their future in Columbus," Nerswick
said yesterday.

He said he wants to help connect people to the city's businesses, arts groups and nonprofits,
possibly by getting those institutions more involved in the schools. That would mean more customers
for the businesses and organizations, he said, and a more engaged citizenry.

"The city should be facilitating this process," he said. It wouldn't cost city taxpayers
anything, he said, because the businesses should see that it will help them.

"This is their clientele in the future," he said.

Nerswick said he's originally from Cincinnati but moved to Columbus 22 years ago to attend Ohio
State, where he earned an engineering degree. He lives in the Northland area and has two children
in college and one at Bishop Watterson High School.

He has not been politically active in his neighborhood, at least to the knowledge of Dave Paul,
president of the Northland Community Council.

"I've never heard of him in any neighborhood context," Paul said.

But Brenda Doner, who runs a group called Volunteer Connections to help small nonprofit groups
find volunteers, said she has worked with Nerswick. Lend-a-Hand works with young adults dealing
with mental illness and addiction, she said.

"The thrift shop provides work experiences for young adults who are part of the program," she
said.